I want to agree with this conclusion, but it feels like the GDP being accurate, and the GDP not being a good reflection of citizen welfare is both more likely and more telling.
I used to love the Economist but they appear to have gone downhill more recently and those graphs seem designed to make a specific point rather than present data objectively.
edit: after fighting my way past the paywall, this was poorer than I suspected:
> Assuming that the most democratic countries reported growth figures accurately, he then used the satellite data to estimate if other countries under- or over-stated theirs.
So they just graphed the assumption as if it was data, rather than an assumption.
Though now I'm wondering why Australia isn't considered democratic enough to have their GDP taken as correct.
I used to love the Economist but they appear to have gone downhill more recently and those graphs seem designed to make a specific point rather than present data objectively.
edit: after fighting my way past the paywall, this was poorer than I suspected:
> Assuming that the most democratic countries reported growth figures accurately, he then used the satellite data to estimate if other countries under- or over-stated theirs.
So they just graphed the assumption as if it was data, rather than an assumption.
Though now I'm wondering why Australia isn't considered democratic enough to have their GDP taken as correct.